Dahlia Racers specializes in lying to people, be it on the stage or in the intelligence community. She’s the perfect friend for when you need to disappear, and Gun Honey does. Your Major Spoilers review of Heat Seeker: A Gun Honey Series #1 from Titan Comics awaits!

HEAT SEEKER: A GUN HONEY SERIES #1

Writer: Charles Ardai
Penciler: Ace Continuado
Inker: Jose Zapata
Colorist: Asifur Rahman
Letterer: David Leach
Editor: Jake Devine
Publisher: Titan Comics/Hard Case Crime
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: June 28, 2023

Previously in Heat Seeker: A Gun Honey Series: Marked for death by a U.S. intelligence agency, Gun Honey Joanna Tan turns to Dahlia Racers to help her pull a vanishing act. But the killer hot on her trail, beautiful sociopath Sarah Claride, will leave bodies strewn from New York to Las Vegas to Tijuana, Mexico, if it means cornering Dahlia – and breaking her…

SHE LOVES HER JOB

We start with a bang, with Dahlia Racers in mid-mission, seemingly recovering a kidnapped stage magician from the criminals holding him. She even explains that she’s always known what she wanted to do with her life: She wanted to lie to people. Designing stage illusions scratched part of that itch, but things take a turn when she shoots the kidnapping victim that she seemed to be trying to save! Of course, it’s all a ruse, allowing her to get him to safety while the people who want him dead, which is where Joanna “Gun Honey” Tan comes into the picture. After the end of her last miniseries, Joanna and her boyfriend have been targeted by spies of all stripes, and now Dahlia has to use her skills to fake their deaths. It all goes off without a hitch, fooling the hoi polloi, but not everyone. Especially not a hired killer named Sarah, who kills Dahlia’s partner Cesar and leaves his body as a warning to the erstwhile Heat Seeker.

BUT SHE’S NOT ALONE

The setup of Sarah as a worthy enemy is carefully established throughout the issue, weaving in and out of the story in a very clever way, but that ending was still quite shocking for me. It also sets up personal stakes for Dahlia which, given her secondary career of faking deaths, is necessary. The art in this issue is quite good though, like Gun Honey, there are an awful lot of breasts in the issue. Dahlia’s work clothes are unzipped to the navel, and she and Joanna both have topless scenes in the book, which may be off-putting to some readers. The real treasure of the art, though, is that you can actually tell that male federal agent Brook is male federal agent Brook while made up as a woman, thanks to Dahlia’s expertise in makeup. I would have preferred a little bit more sharpness in the facial expressions, but even that complaint doesn’t sink the parts of the art that work.

BOTTOM LINE: AN IMPRESSIVE DEBUT

The Hard Case Crime imprint means that this issue features nudity, adult language, sexual situations, and more, but for adults, Heat Seeker: A Gun Honey Series #1 is an entertaining read, with art that’s well-done, impressive character introductions, and some impressive automobile and motorcycle chases, earning 4 out of 5 stars overall. It’s not for kids, but the right hard-boiled adults will love this.

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